Accessibility minister's comments about ASL interpreter a 'knife right in the back' for deaf graduate

Deborah Owczar and Stephanie Jebb expressed disappointment over comments made by Manitoba’s accessibility minister, Nahanni Fontaine, during a graduation event for Indigenous women in Winnipeg on June 26, 2025. The remarks regarding sharing the stage with a sign-language interpreter overshadowed the celebration for Owczar, who found it difficult to appreciate her college certificate afterward.

Explain It To Me Like I’m 5:

At a graduation party for Indigenous women, a woman felt sad about her special day because the accessibility minister said something not nice about the sign-language interpreter who was helping people understand.

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